The Problem

Army Worm

Spodoptera frugiperda

What are Army worms?

This destructive garden pest gets its name because it travels in small insect armies and consumes just about everything in its path. Army worms are also commonly referred to as lawn grubs. This caterpillar of the Spodoptera mauritia moth is most prevalent throughout the warmer months of the year, and repeat infestations can occur.

The damage caused by Army Worms is most obvious by the speed at which damage occurs, as the caterpillars form very large numbers and behave as a colony to eat away at the green leaf of lawns.

Army Worms can vary in colour from green to brown to black, they can reach a maximum length of about 4 cm, and will become plump as they feed and mature.

What are the symptoms of Army worms?

Army worms are very difficult to find, they spend their days hiding at soil level, and deep inside the thatch layer of the lawn. It’s at night time that army worms will come out and spend the entire night feeding on our lawns. For this reason, it can be difficult to actually track down these lawn grubs and pin the proper responsibility on them for the damage to our lawns.

When seeing that our lawn is becoming damaged in areas which seem to be spreading across the entire lawn, then caterpillar damage should be considered as a possibility.

How to treat Army Worm?

Yates Baythroid works on contact to kill pests in a addition to being long lasting residual activity at low doses and rapid knockdown. Highly effective against 2 major lawn pests – African black beetle adults and grass-eating lawn grubs.

For Army worms, apply late afternoon as an overall treatment to recently mown lawn. Lightly water the lawn before applying. Repeat treatment if necessary. When treating a dense lawn with a garden sprayer, lightly water lawn before and after spraying.